Obama Exchanges Turning into Disasters? Who Would’ve Thunk It?

The feds may not have provided an estimate of the cost of operating an exchange, but several other experts have. The results are eye-popping. According to Maryland’s Joint Committee on Health Benefit Exchange Financing, administrative costs alone will run the state an astounding $201 per person in 2015.

The auditing firm KPMG recently found that Ohio can expect to spend $63 million to set up its exchange and another $43 million each year to run it.

That’s not to mention the many logistical challenges inherent in serving the 9 million Americans expected to take part in the exchanges in 2014. States will need to provide customer service call centers, “navigators” to encourage enrollment, and elaborate information technology systems to coordinate data among the state, federal, and private groups involved in selling coverage.

Even if the feds and the states manage to surpass these hurdles, the new marketplaces are unlikely to fulfill one of their top promises — lowering premiums.

Read the whole thing. Thank Heaven that Georgia passed on this monstrosity.